Prologue
Johanna
The sight of the Boyes estate made me homesick. It hadn’t even been a full week since the attack forcing us to flee, but I missed what our home life used to be when my family was in charge of their small corner of the Kingdom and life was normal.
At least, it had been for me. I knew there were issues with my father, but I’d always been Daddy’s little girl. He’d always taken out his aggressions on Victoria, and since they had mostly been out of sight and out of mind, I’m now ashamed to say they’d never really bothered me. It wasn’t until more recently when Mina had begun getting into trouble, and then Victoria left, that things began to spiral.
Now he was dead and I didn’t know how I felt about that. I was sad for the good family times we’d shared but relieved the spiraling had bottomed out. I knew Mina was relieved, too; she’d never been as close to him as I’d been. And, of course, I knew Victoria was relieved since she’d received the brunt of his fury, and I even knew a part of my mother was relieved since she’d never been able to control him.
I saw how quickly things could be taken away—a privileged life I had previously taken for granted. Now, with only my mother left, I knew I’d take over her position one day and I wanted to be ready for it when the time came. This wasn’t a conviction I had even a few short months ago. How quickly things could change.
I had no intention of re-dying my hair after the hues of blue and purple were removed during my short time working in the palace as a housemaid. They were as gone as the girl who’d entered into that forced service and my natural hair color would serve as that reminder. My mother liked it; Mina, not so much.
I exited the front passenger side of the sedan Kale had borrowed to get us to the Boyes estate, in the heart of the 20th Ward. The grounds weren’t as well kept as ours had been and the siding looked worn and dull—though ours was most definitely in worse shape now.
Kale stopped at the front of the car, gazing up at the three-story estate that had cast a long shadow over us. Piper stepped out from the back seat, her eyes glistening with tears ready to spill over at any moment.
“I hope someone’s home,” Kale said since no one had come to greet us.
In fact, the estate was deathly quiet. The front gate had been open, yet unguarded. I didn’t want to fear the worst but was starting to worry.
Without a word, Piper strolled past us and rang the doorbell. She wiped her eyes as we waited for someone to answer the door.
Alas, the sound of approaching footsteps from inside broke the silence. The door opened and a middle-aged man in a black suit and with thinning gray hair stood before us.
“May I help you?” he asked in a rich, baritone voice, eyeing the three of us suspiciously.
“You can,” I said, stepping next to Piper. “I am Johanna Ramsey of the 24th Ward and request an audience with the Duke and Duchess Boyes. I bring news of Piper Rosewood.”
The man’s eyes brightened at the mention of Piper and opened the door wider. “Please come in, Lady Ramsey, as well as your colleagues.” He gestured to a room off the foyer. “You may wait here while I ring for Duke Boyes. Lady Boyes is not currently here, but I’m sure the Duke will be quite interested to hear what information you’ve brought regarding Miss Piper.”
“Thank you,” I said and led the others inside, per the butler’s direction. I glanced at Piper as we entered to see how she was taking the news, but her face remained stoic.
The butler’s footsteps were loud as he retreated down the hallway, adding to how empty the estate felt.
“Has it always been like this?” Kale asked.
“Not usually,” Piper said. “Only during family vacations. I went on many of them, but I remained home with the staff on a few occasions. At those times, the house was pretty quiet.”
It was still so strange seeing Piper and knowing she used to look like Victoria—that they were clones of Princess Amelia. I’d been so jealous of Victoria when she had been called away to the palace—jealous that she was some long-lost princess. The truth was so much sadder.
Kale stood close to me as we waited for the butler to return. He’d been another reason I’d been jealous of Victoria. I didn’t know if he’d ever liked me at all, or if on that first day when he’d seen Victoria, he’d simply used me as a way to get to her. I remembered the way his demeanor had changed once I’d introduced them. She was probably the whole reason he’d asked to meet Mina. Back then, I never had the opportunity to confront him about it. Now, with everything that had happened since, I felt awkward bringing it up. But I knew now he was so much more than just the pretty face that had caught my attention back home; he was a genuinely good guy. He’d probably never see in me what I now saw in him, which hurt more than I wanted to admit.
“What do you think he’s going to say?” Kale asked Piper.
“I think he’ll want to help,” she said. “But this is one of the smallest wards and the estate is not equipped with many soldiers.”
“Whatever he can spare will help,” Kale said.
“His influence in getting more ward support may be even more valuable,” I said.
“Very true,” Kale agreed, giving me a fleeting smile.
I’d expected to have the butler return, but we were met by the Duke himself. Duke Boyes was a somewhat short and stout man, with thick, brown hair and bright blue eyes. His thick mustache matched his hair, completely covering his upper lip. What he lacked in physical stature, he made up for with a powerful voice and presence.
“Johanna, you must be Beatrice’s eldest daughter. It’s a pleasure to officially meet you,” Duke Boyes said, advancing toward me with an outstretched hand. “Though I do remember meeting you once before when you were just a young child. Your sister had only recently been born.”
“Thank you for meeting with me—us,” I said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“You said you had news of our Piper?”
“I do.”
“Come; we can talk in my office.”
After quick introductions with Kale and Victoria, the Duke led us down the hall to a paneled room of dark wood and closed the door, so we’d have some privacy. He offered us each a leather chair before taking a seat behind his oversized, wooden desk.
“I honestly never thought I’d hear Piper’s name mentioned again outside of these walls,” the Duke admitted. “I’m sorry, my wife is out of town currently, vacationing with the children.”
“Is this a wise time to be vacationing?” Kale asked.
The Duke’s eyes grew narrow. “It’s a wise time to be careful,” he said, a sharp edge to his voice. “I heard about the attack on your estate, Miss Johanna. And the one on Duke Mackenzie in the 23rd Ward. Vacationing may not be the right word; hiding may be more accurate. I do not know if I’m to be the next target, but I refuse to abandon my post.”
“I’m sorry. I meant no offense,” Kale said.
Duke Boyes leaned back in his leather chair and shook his head. “I never wanted to make that deal with the Queen. We weren’t supposed to speak a word to anyone of what she truly was, but I guess that no longer matters now—now that the Queen is dead. I didn’t even know how many of them there were until recently. I’m sure you know. One of them grew up in your household.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Well, what was she?” the Duke asked. “I want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth, ready to speak, when Piper answered for me.
“A clone—a clone of Princess Amelia,” Piper said in a truly melancholy tone.
Duke Boyes studied each of our faces for any hint of surprise. And when he didn’t find any, he simply said, “I guess we’re all in the know.”
“Now it’s time to fill you in on everything that happened since she left,” I said. “And there’s no one better to do that than Piper herself.”
The Duke’s eyes grew wide. “She’s here? My Piper is here?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Piper said softly, a small hitch in her voice.
He stared at her incredulously, not recognizing the girl that had left on the Inter-Ward Express several months prior. There was a glint in his eyes now as well. “Piper, is that you? Is it really you? Your voice sounded familiar, but I thought my ears were playing a cruel joke on me.”
The Queen had my appearance altered,” Piper said. “But beneath all this, it’s still me.”
Before she had even finished speaking, Duke Boyes had launched out of his chair and enveloped her in a desperate hug. “I thought I’d never see you again. I wish your mother were here right now—the whole rest of the family were here right now. I can’t believe it’s really you. You look so beautiful. I mean, you were extraordinary before, but you’re even more exquisite now.” He now held her at arm’s length, looking over her new features, with tears spilling down his cheeks. “What does this mean? Have all the other girls been changed too? Are you now free?”
The reaction was nearly bringing tears to my eyes as well. This was a reaction a parent should have with the return of a child—even one as dubious as a clone. Victoria would have had a very different life here and I was beginning to feel sorry she’d been stuck with us.
“Not yet,” I said. “It’s still very dangerous for her. Only two of the girls have been altered. The rest are still being used by the Queen’s doctors.”
“Dr. Sosin and Dr. Crane?” the Duke asked.
“Dr. Sosin is dead,” Kale said.
“But the other doctors have taken control of the palace,” I said.
“The doctors have the other girls under some kind of mind control, forcing them to do terrible things against their wills. That’s who you’re seeing on the television,” Piper said. “I was extremely lucky not to be captured. I was at the Ramsey estate when it was attacked, but I escaped. The sisters I had with me were not so fortunate.”
“One of them being my sister,” I said, thinking this might be the first time I’d ever used the word with regards to Victoria. I was ashamed of that thought, but I couldn’t focus on it now. “There is a lot going on—the Kingdom is under attack from within—and that is why we need your help.”
Duke Boyes glanced at Piper with a look of pure endearment, then turned his attention back to me. “Of course. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
I smiled at the Duke’s promise of support, settling my nerves that I wouldn’t be able to pull it off, and caught Kale’s attention on me out of the corner of my eye. A hint of a smile crept onto his face as well. He looked—I don’t know—proud of me.
Chapter 1
Victoria
It had been a full week since I’d been back at the palace, confined with Eleanor, Jane, and Danielle to the bunker. Bethany had become the real Princess Amelia, and Constance (since her appearance had been altered) had become her personal lady’s maid. Constance now accompanied the Princess to all her public appearances, including Queen Hart’s funeral and several excursions to the cemetery since then. Dr. Crane believed it was important to have the Princess out in the public eye as much as possible to dispel the ugly rumors and rebuild public trust. Princess Amelia announced she was committed to uniting the unraveling kingdom and promised to be a true queen of the people. No doubt, she would reiterate her message of hope at her coronation tomorrow.
Over the past week, there had been no word of Prince Byron, even though he was still being projected as the primary person of interest in the Queen’s death. Westeria and Easteria relations had become volatile, knowing for one, Westeria had relinquished all aid to the ailing kingdom in exchange for Prince Byron being turned over to the palace authorities. The DuFours insisted they were not harboring their youngest son—not that they’d give him up anyway. But I didn’t think he’d fled Westeria. I believed he was still there, working on some kind of plan to release me from my new prison and restore the Kingdom to its rightful heir. It was the one hope that left me with an ounce of sanity.
The voice in my head never gave me a name, saying it would slow down our integration process. She’d simply say we were one and the same. But I found that confusing and a little disturbing, so I began calling her Ali. She made it a point to tell me she didn’t approve of the name, but never got upset. She didn’t seem to display any emotions other than calmness, understanding, and endless patience. It made it a lot harder and less satisfying to fight with her, though it didn’t stop me since there was no one else I could communicate with.
Sometimes, I simply screamed when I was around other people, but it didn’t make any difference. My obnoxious behavior didn’t seem to distract Ali in the least. She was able to continue an intelligent conversation with her passenger throwing a complete meltdown of a tantrum like I wasn’t even there. Maybe she was equipped with volume control and mute buttons, so the only person I was annoying was myself. Even though I wasn’t physically doing anything, the tantrums were still exhausting, and afterward, I’d simply curl up in a dark corner of my mind and rest quietly. Only then did she talk to me, like a reward.
The strangest and most disorienting part of this whole arrangement was sleeping. Even though my physical body needed daily rest and sleep, we didn’t need to do it at the same time. I tried to coordinate my sleep schedule with Ali as much as possible because when I didn’t, I was afraid of what was happening while I did. I was getting used to the disorientation—going to sleep while my body was still working—and vice versa. The first time it happened, I’d woken up while my body was eating breakfast at the Sub-level Three bunker dining room table. Two of the other girls were also seated at the table and I’d thought I was still dreaming. It took me a full minute to convince myself I was truly awake.
I thought I did, but I’d never known what true captivity was until now. True captivity was being completely invisible—a ghost. However, I tried not to dwell on my situation since I knew I wasn’t the only one dealing with this kind of scenario. All the girls here were suffering just as much as I was—maybe even more so with some of the atrocities the others had committed. I hadn’t yet been out of the palace since waking in the room with Constance. I hadn’t been forced to kill anyone—yet.
Dr. Crane’s voice was easily distinguishable over the voices of my sisters in the main living space. I was finishing applying moisturizer and light makeup in my en-suite—not that I had any say in the matter. Ali kept me up with an unwavering daily hygiene routine, even though we’d done nothing but sit around the bunker. The other girls left periodically, without saying a word.
“What’s taking her so long?” Dr. Crane yelled.
“I’m right here,” Ali said, stepping out of my bedroom, shrugging on a bathrobe over my clothes.
Dr. Crane looked frazzled, his hair wild, deep circles under his eyes. “Have you discovered any more information yet?”
“Nothing of use in finding the Prince or Princess,” Ali said. “I’ve been sifting through her memories. There’s a large chunk I’m having to decrypt since you reset her, so I can gain access to them.”
“Those memories shouldn’t be relevant here, but go through them all, just in case.”
Ali was talking about my memories and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. And now, she was working on getting memories I didn’t even have access to—the months of time I’d lost—my entire initial relationship with Kale. Not only was she controlling everything about me physically, she was invading my memories and using what she found to help Dr. Crane. I couldn’t even think of some escape plan without her gaining access to it. She may not know about it immediately, but she’d find out. There were no secrets left that would just be mine.
“With all the resources we have, including the financed army Danielle brought back, we shouldn’t have this much trouble finding them!” Dr. Crane proceeded to completely unravel. “We did not come this far, accomplish this much, to lose from not being able to find the helpless Princess. We all know she won’t be helpless for long. Each day she doesn’t receive her treatments is a day closer to her revealing herself to the Kingdom.” He raked his hands through his matted hair. “The coronation is tomorrow. We need to double our efforts. By my estimation, she’ll be back to full health within one to two more weeks. Of course, she’ll be weak, but she’ll be able to communicate fully. Who knows what those rebels will be coaxing her to do? Is there nothing inside that muddled head of hers that can give any clues to where they’re hiding?”
“All she knows is that we did not find the Princess in the Outlands, and former Duke Mackenzie knows where she is stashed,” Ali said. “But that’s all.”
“We’ve checked all of Mackenzie’s and Ramsey’s documented holdings and have not found anything,” Jane said.
“Perhaps they have undocumented holdings and are hidden there,” Dr. Crane snapped. “Though it’s more likely it’s a personal connection we’re missing, not a hidden asset. How did I let this get so out of hand?”
“We’ll find her before it’s too late,” Danielle said. “The soldiers are widening their patrols, including all the wards that participated in Queen Dorothea’s experiment.”
“That’s not enough,” Dr. Crane said, pacing around the room. “They need to be in every ward, patrolling every street.”
“We weren’t able to secure that many soldiers,” Danielle said. “The cost was too prohibitive. There are drones scanning the greater kingdom. One of them will show up somewhere.”
“If we find the Prince, we will find the Princess,” Dr. Crane said. “It’s no longer enough he’s just a person of interest. I’ll get the people of Westeria involved—issue a reward for anyone leading to his whereabouts.”
“Take some time to enjoy the coronation tomorrow,” Eleanor said, coming to stand beside him, then offering a hug. “It’s a big day—for you, for all of us.”
“Thank you,” Dr. Crane said. “I will try to remember that. Once we have Amelia, everything will be so much simpler.” Then he turned back to me. “If you do discover anything for us to follow up on, then please let me know at once.”
“Of course; I will,” Ali said.
Why are you even listening to him? I asked. You can take me anywhere—break out of here. We’re just in another prison.
We all have to do as we’re programmed, Ali said inside my head.
Programmed?
Ali didn’t answer, and my attention went back to Dr. Crane, who was talking again.
“In the spirit of doubling our efforts, we need to challenge the commitments of the ward’s noble families—discover who will remain loyal to the crown. The rebels may even be doing something similar, especially with Mackenzie being a duke himself. It’s time I had everyone’s help. We’ll start with your home wards, though we can already cross off the 23rd and 24th. Those wards will need new leadership anyway. Eleanor, you visit the 22nd Ward, Jane the 21st, Victoria the 20th, and Danielle the 19th. If the rebels are already trying to gather support, they’ll also be starting with your home wards. If we’re lucky enough, we’ll catch them in the act, otherwise sabotaging their efforts could also prove fruitful.”
I won’t let you kill them, I said.
I will do what’s necessary, Ali replied. Enemies will be eliminated.
I’ll find a way to stop you. I had no idea how but knew I couldn’t let her repeat the terrible destruction done to my old home, to Mackenzie’s estate, to Kale’s village. It seemed like she had absolute power now, but she must have a weakness; she had to. I just had to find it.
I’m sorry we cannot be more aligned, Ali said to me while simultaneously speaking to Dr. Crane. “I’ll leave at once to visit Duke and Duchess Boyes in the 20th Ward. Their surrogate daughter, Piper Rosewood, is the one other clone unaccounted for.”
“I had forgotten that was her ward,” Dr. Crane said. “Be extra thorough to see if she’s had any contact with them.”
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